Predators' Nimrod Antal To Direct Metallica's 3D Movie

It seems Katy Perry isn’t the only musician headed to the big screen in the near future. Metallica fanatics may have one more way to celebrate the heavy metal band, come next year. A 3D feature film is in the works for Metallica, and Nimrod Antal has been brought on board to direct.

According to Collider, Antal, whose directing credits include the 2010 film Predators and Vacancy (2007), has signed on to helm Metallica’s 3D movie. The project is said to be a blend of narrative and concert footage starring Metallica’s James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujullo, and many of their fans. (With over 100 million albums sold, you can bet there are a lot of those.)

As Collider notes, details on the film are slim at the moment, but Metallica has three decades worth of history that can be explored, which should leave them with no shortage of material to work with for the narrative of the film.

On the subject of Antal directing, Lars Ulrich said:

I’ve been a fan of Nimróds since his first Hungarian film, Kontroll, showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away. I’ve watched with excitement his career in Hollywood blossom over the last few years. Within five minutes of meeting him I was addicted to his enthusiasm, his take on the creative process and his “thinking outside of the box” personality. Let’s get on with it!!!

Let’s get on with it, indeed! Per Collider, the film is expected to shoot this August with an aim to release it Summer 2013.

On a more personal note, as the sister of a huge Metallica fan, and as someone whose limited appreciation for metal music is due in large part to the commercially successful Black album, I can definitely see the appeal of a film like this, and I have no doubt that there will be a lot of people lining up to see it.